Worcester-area unemployment at 3.6%

6/19/2018

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The state unemployment remained at 3.5 percent in May.

The Worcester-area unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent in May, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. About 280 more were unemployed in May compared to April, a rise from 12,848 to 13,126.However, both employment and labor force figures also grew by the thousands in the Worcester-Connecticut metropolitan area. There were 364,259 in the labor force in May, compared to 361,436 in April. Those employed included 351,133 last month compared to 348,588 in April.Other areas in Worcester County reported higher unemployment rates. In the Athol area, that figure was at 4.3 percent in May, a tick down from 4.4 in April. In the Leominster-Gardner area, unemployment was also down a bit to 3.8 in may from 3.9 in April. All of those areas had higher unemployment rates than the Massachusetts average, which had an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent, according to the state.